Silver Lining
by MedliSage
Summary: The story of how Silver the Hedgehog met Blaze the Cat, their pasts, the formation of their companionship and the first encounter with Iblis. Takes place three years before Sonic 06. SilverxBlaze, now complete.
1. Origins

**Silver Lining**

_By MedliSage_

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Chapter 1: Origins

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Silver the Hedgehog's name was given his name for two reasons: the first and obvious one being because of his unusual fur coloring. The second, however, is deeper than that.

For quite some time, Silver's mother and father had lived as happily as a couple could in those times of destruction. Even in the endless flames, there was still life on the Earth, though rather scarce. People lived in small societies of about four or five families, but some lived with only their parents and any siblings they may have had. Silver's parents were born into a small "village" – if one could call ruins that served as makeshift shelters and six families a village – within a few months of one another. They grew up together and fell in love. Being the youngest of those left there, it could not have been even twenty or so years after they were born that they were the only ones left. Deciding to try and find a better place not only for them but also the possible children they planned to have some day, they had found a place not terribly far from what many came to call "Crisis City," the place where Iblis reigned. Since the whole world was ravaged, there was no particular "nice" place to live, however the two had managed to find a place that could meet the basics needed to survive: shelter, food, and clean water, and it was also far enough from the city that it was safe. The couple was deeply in love and did not need anything else to be happy; thus, some two or three years later, they had a child.

However, only days before the baby was born, disaster struck. In an attempt to find a place better fit to raise their upcoming newborn, Silver's father had left to explore the area nearby they had yet to see.

This area was Crisis City. They had not been there for evident reasons; its danger was blatant, but they had heard time to time from wandering travelers that there existed a place somewhere within that was safe, a sort of sanctuary, a place safe from the flames. Silver's father was more than apt to protect himself, as he possessed the special gift he would pass onto his son: psychokinesis. So in search of the best environment to raise their son, he kissed his love goodbye, and left.

As said before, the danger of Crisis City was obvious without even stepping close to it. However, its true horror became painfully manifest when Silver's father returned from his short exploration, bloody and almost too weak to carry himself.

Needless to say, he did not survive much longer. Any normal person would have died nearly instantly from the wounds he sustained, but he had the strongest willpower and passion that one could imagine; another trait he would pass to his son. Defying all fate, he came back to see his love once more. During this time, he told her he loved her and also apologized for not being able to be with his son. And then, ever so quickly, the last flicker of life inside him went out. Though now carrying a full child inside of herself, Silver's mother had taken on the agonizing ritual of burying the one she loved. Shortly after this, Silver the Hedgehog was born.

During the course of her pregnancy, they had not come up with any sort of list as to what the name the child. No, both of them had decided that the right name would come to them when the time was upon the two. Though now alone, she fulfilled this obligation regardless, and called the baby Silver. One, for the color of his fur – which was unusual not only because silver fur it itself is unusual, but also because neither of his parents had fur the same color. The second and more meaningful reason for his name came from what he now symbolized to his mother: the color silver stands for hope, justice, and truth. This baby had brought new hope into her life, and although this was was selfish – she one day hoped he could bring justice back into this world. And finally, although she did not know it yet at the time, he possessed a heart truer and more pure than one could even imagine. She felt as though it was destiny for his name to be this.

So Silver it was.

Within the first year of his life, it became evident that he had received his father's psychic abilities. Even as an infant, he would do things like pick up small pebbles with the force of only his mind, and move them around until he felt satisfied. As he got older, however, it seemed that he did not have the amount of skill as his deceased parent; even at the age of five or six, he was unable to control things larger than small rocks and create force fields that would trap whatever thrown into it in his power only the size of his palm. But even if he had possessed no psychic power, he would never have been any less precious to his mother.

That being said, it was perhaps largely due to the amount of love that Silver received that made him end up like he did in many aspects. He shared the strongest bond with his mother possible, and he loved her more than anything in the world. Hence, especially as young as he was, it made it incredibly easily to influence his thoughts and feelings. She would often tell him stories of his father; of what courageous and brave man he had been, and of the justice he would fight for, and of the lengths he would go to in order to protect those that he loved. Perhaps it was these stories, or the piece of his father that lived inside of him, or perhaps it was because of his own soul, but Silver the Hedgehog ended up with a strong passion for justice, and vivid life in his spirit, and with willpower that transcended logic itself. Possibly most importantly, however, he possessed a heart capable of love and compassion so powerful it could change others.

As he grew up, his mother noted that despite being intelligent, he was somewhat dense when it came to certain things, such as love or any other emotion – he would simply "feel" things and act on these feelings, without knowing what they even were. He was also constantly driven by his emotions, his spirit having complete dominance over his mind. Finally, he was so naïve it was endearing – he would trust anyone and anything, never questioning intentions, and would forgive all who asked for it. The only exception to this was when someone asked for forgiveness for a crime they committed that brought purposeful harm to another. Even at a young age, his compassionate and empathizing heart often moved travelers who would come by.

Silver and his mother lived in relative harmony and happiness for quite some time. However, only a couple days after his eleventh birthday, this would all change.

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Chapter 1 end.

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A/N: This was originally intended to be a oneshot of just Silver and Blaze's first meeting, with a simple paragraph or two to explain Silver's origin (mostly on his name though), but before I knew it I ended up with 2 pages on his birth! So I've decided to now split this up into chapters. At the time of writing this, a title is still undecided, and if I'm going to name the chapters or now, so I believe I'm going to write chapter two before I post anything. But if you're reading this, that means I've already published it, however I thought maybe I'd include my thoughts at this moment. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed, and I hope you enjoy then next chapter as well.

Now editing this after writing chapter two – which is more than quadruple the length of this chapter – I'm thinking the whole story will probably be three chapters. I'm not too happy with the title, but I've never been good at such things. Well anyway, again, I hope you enjoyed, reviews appreciated!

_- Medli_


	2. Meeting

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Chapter 2: Meeting

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Two days after his eleventh birthday – it was a day Silver the Hedgehog would never forget, a day burned into his memory, a day of farewells and also of new beginnings. This day started like any other – with his mother's gentle voice awaking him, shortly after the rise of the sun, although the sky did not look much different between day and night – it was either a light orange or a dark orange, but regardless – it reflected that even the sky had been burned by the everlasting flames. But yes, Silver's mother woke him up like any other day.

He had groggily sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and yawning. After sharing the usual good-morning-hug with his mother, he had gone outside of their small alcove within a cliff in which they resided to the nearby pond to get some water.

The sudden thud the flaming monster gave when it leapt down the cliff was almost as unprecedented as the monster itself – missing its target by some two feet, it lunged at the hedgehog, but its assault was dodged – however the shock wave sent along the ground with the force of its feet caused Silver to fall, barely stopping his face from slamming into the ground with his palms.

By now his mother had come upon the scene, and the wolf-like monster growled at her, as if warning her to stay away if she valued her life. She did not back down, of course, and quickly took her son by the wrist and ran. Alas, their speed was meaningless, for they were running from certain death: the monster pounced again, landing right at their back, causing them both to fall and the mother to let go of her child.

"Silver, run!" She had called as the monster pinning her down with one paw, the one part of its body not flaming.

"I can't do that, Mother!"

Before she could reply, it moved its paw down her back a bit, lighting tearing its claws into her flesh. She yelled out in agony.

"Mother!"

He rose to his feet, running to her. Quickly, he took her wrist, in an attempt to pull her out. Alas, the monster's physical strength was far greater than his own.

Strained, she turned her head upward to speak to him. "S-Silver, you must get out of here, now! For myself and for your father, you must live! Go! Now!"

"I can't do that!" He repeated.

The monster roared, now ready to kill its prey. In order to prevent any possible interruptions and also to enjoy further food later, it took its free fore-paw and slammed it against the boy. The force sent him flying into the cliff, and he subsequently fell a few feet onto the ground. With the last of his strength, he extended his arm to his mother, exerting all effort in an attempt to call her name. The world in front of him just silhouettes now with his dimming vision, the last thing he saw was the monster lower its head, and a third silhouette leap down from the cliff and kick it in the neck.

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"...Hey... hey...!"

A barely audible voice echoed in his ears, all other senses shut off.

"...Get up! ...We have to get out of here...!"

He regained feeling of his body steadily, and was able to acknowledge the shaking of shoulder – he recognized the fact that he was on his side, on the rough ground. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and color and light flooded into them and took place of the darkness.

Not too far from his face was a girl around his age, with pink fur and a purple shirt, and a red gem on her forehead. Her golden eyes, the same color as his own, were locked right into his.

"Are you okay? Can you walk?"

His mind still foggy, he pushed himself up with his hands, still trying to get a grasp on the situation. He couldn't remember what had happened at all or what was going on. From here, he slowly rose to his feet, his legs somewhat wobbly.

She took his hand. "Come on – we have to get out of here as fast as we can."

He quickly glanced at the scene around, the place right outside of where he had resided for so long. Still, he could remember nothing about why he was in the situation he was in – until he saw a corpse.

The bloody corpse of his mother.

Everything that had transpired was shot into his mind like a bullet, this being almost comparable to the sudden, agonizing pain he felt in his heart. He ran over to her in disbelief, unlocking hands with the girl, stumbling once and kneeling over her body.

"Mother! Mother, please say something!"

He shook her lightly, with no response.

"M-mother... mother! No, please! Say something, please!"

After another moment without a reply, he buried his face into her torso, tears streaming from his eyes. "No," his muffled voice said. "No... please, this can't... no... please wake up, mother..."

His mind disconnected from the world around him, wishing for everything to just stop – no, no. He wished for everything to rewind, so he could prevent this from happening. If he had only looked around before heading out, they could have escaped, and his mother could have...

He was shocked back into cruel reality by a hand on his shoulder. Quickly, he turned his head up to look up front of him, at the girl who knelt on the opposite side of his mother. Her eyes were filled with an emotion he couldn't read, and her voice was soft and quiet. "I'm sorry," she said. "But we have to get out of here... I only managed to hold that monster off. It'll be back any minute – you and I have to escape."

He sobbed, his voice broken and his heart torn. "I... can't..." Again, his face fell into his mother's body. "I can't just leave her!" His muffled voice said loudly.

The girl took his wrist, as his mother had done not too long ago. Slowly, he looked up at her.

"Listen – I heard what your mother was shouting to you before you blacked out. She wants you to live. And if you stay here – well, you probably won't. Come with me." Her voice was strained as she said this, as if she did not speak words like this often.

His eyes moved from her to his mother, and then back again slowly. He opened his mouth to give her a reply, however it was halted by the thunderous boom of the monster's return as it landed on the ground, some ten feet away from them.

Instantly the two youths were on their feet – although he could not fight well, Silver was determined to protect this girl who had saved his life. She glanced at him, her voice quick. "Get out of here. I'll distract it."

"But –"

She cut him off. "I'll be fine, I can defend myself," she said, leaping into the air. With stunning swiftness and accuracy, she landed a roundhouse kick in mid-air on its neck, to which it replied with a yelp of pain. However, it had gotten wiser since its last encounter, and quickly raised one of its forepaws and slammed it again her, sending the girl flying twenty feet and tumbling onto the ground.

Without a second thought Silver ran to her, helping her stand. "Are you –"

"I'm fine," she said, stepping in front of him and facing the beast. "Go! Now!"

"I can't just –"

The monster roared, launching a fist-sized rock at them with its tail, which hit the cat square in her right knee – she cried out in pain, before falling onto her now wounded leg.

Silver quickly took a step forward so as to be next to her and fell to one knee as well, looking at her injury – blood trickled down her calf. Her eyes were still shut from the pain, unable to open them for another moment. However, they both heard the beast's roar once again as it prepared a final strike against its prey. Taking its large fore paw, it hurled a nearby boulder at them.

Silver saw this, and instantly turned his head back to the girl, grasping her shoulders, as if he could shield her from the attack.

His eyes shut and, although he did not tell it to, his body glowed a bright, light green, as he thought to himself. _N__ot... now..._

A moment of complete silence passed – before being broken by the girl's voice. "Wh-what are you doing?!"

His eyes jolted open, and he turned around – a large force field, the same color his body now glowed, was in front of them, and the boulder, also giving off this aura, hovered in front of it.

"How are you doing that?!"

"I-I don't know!"

Enraged its assault had not worked, the monster let out its cry once more before hurling another boulder at them.

Silver threw his arms, crossed at his wrists, in front of him out of instinct, his eyes tightly shut. This, however, made the force field more powerful, and not only did it still hold the boulder of the previous attack, but it stopped this one as well.

He looked in front of him, incredulous of his own feat.

The girl looked at him. "Can you control them? Try throwing them back at him!"

After giving her a brief nod, he stood to his feet. He shut his eyes, trying to recall all the stories his mother had ever told him of his father and how he controlled this power – they opened when he had some idea of what would perhaps make this work.

"Step back," he told the girl, not a hundred percent sure of how this would turn out. Nevertheless, with will that overpowered logic and the strongest desire to protect this girl that had saved him, he focused as much power as he could into his hands before stepping forward and thrusting his palms of his outstretched arms in front of him. The force field dissipated, and the glowing of his body and the boulders stopped – they were hurled straight at the monster, hitting him right at the top of his chest and his head. It let out a warped cry, falling back. Although it was now severely weakened, it stood and growled at them, before leaping forward.

The cat let out a surprisingly girly scream, and Silver once again crossed his arms at his wrist, now instilled with confidence, his eyes never moving from his target. His body glowed and the shield appeared once again, and the monster, not as strong and certainly not expecting this, was locked in the force field.

He let it struggle for a moment, not out of malice, but unsure of what to do next.

"Hey! Throw it into the the cliff over there – it'll fall into the pond!"

Silver looked at where she pointed, to the end of the cliff some fifty feet away. This end of the cliff curved around the end of the pond.

He nodded, focusing all the strength he could, shutting his eyes. After a moment, he once again thrust out his arms. The monster flew into the distance, knocking into the cliff. The forceful impact caused much of the top half of it to crumble, falling onto the unmoving and silent beast before it made a large splash in the water.

Silver tried to still his heavy breathing as he waited for any sort of movement, worn out from his efforts. After a painful silence of perhaps twenty seconds, the top half of his body sunk, his hands supporting him on his knees. He turned his head to the girl. "Are you... okay?"

She nodded, and gave an attempt to stand – but only fell to her hands and knees after putting pressure on her wound, letting out a small cry of pain.

"Don't stand," he said quickly, stepping over to her. He knelt at her side, gently taking her left arm and putting it around his neck, and slipping his right arm around her back and under her other arm. "Come on, come into this alcove with me. Just lean on me, it's fine."

She nodded once, standing with his support. He walked forward and led the limping cat to the small indentation in the cliff, some fifteen feet deep, in which he and his mother would sleep. Swiftly yet tenderly, he lowered her so that she sat against a wall. Then, he stepped to the end of the alcove, where they kept cloth used for bandages. He tore off two pieces, running to the pond again and soaking one. Returning to the wounded girl, he began to clean the cut.

"I-I can do it," she stammered. He paused his work and looked up at her, but she averted his gaze.

He shook his head, returning to the task at hand. "It's no big deal." Glancing back up at her, he spoke again, more concern in his voice. "Are you okay though, did you catch a fever? Your face is all red."

She shifted her hands around inside each other uncomfortably. "Yeah, I'm fine." No, she wasn't, this was absolutely humiliating, but she couldn't do much about it.

He finished cleaning the wound, wrapping the dry piece of cloth around her knee and tying it. Meeting her eyes, he asked, "What's your name?"

"Blaze. Yours?"

"I'm Silver. It's nice to meet you."

A moment of silence, save for the sound of the hedgehog's movement as he shifted to sit next to her, passed. "So Blaze, how old are you? Do you live near here?"

She glanced at him, caught off guard by his continuing friendliness, before turning her head back to stare at the opposing wall again. "I'm eleven. And no, I'm traveling. I'm headed for Crisis City."

Silver blinked, surprised she was the same age as he. There was something about the way she talked and behaved that made her seem mature and older. "I'm eleven too. But Crisis City? Why would you want to go somewhere as dangerous as that?"

Her eyes fell to the ground. "It's... personal."

He slightly tilted his head to one side, not fully understanding. "Hm?" He asked, oblivious.

"I'd rather not... talk about."

"Oh. Okay." He paused. "Oh, I forgot to say – thank you so much for saving me earlier. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."

She shook her head. "I couldn't just stand by and let that monster kill you." Her eyes shifted to him for a moment, then back at the ground. "I'm... sorry I couldn't save her."

His eyes, too, fell to the surface. "It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself."

Silence filled the area, broken by the sound of Silver standing.

"Where are you going?"

"I've... got to give her a proper burial. Next to my father. It would be wrong if I didn't."

"I'll help you."

He shook his head. "No, you can't put force on that wound."

She stood. "I'm fine, I won't."

Looking at her, he said with slight hesitance, "Well, if you want."

Nodding, she followed him out. They walked some ten feet away from the entrance to the alcove, where a stone marker lay in the ground. Silver's body glowed, along with a patch of dirt, and he moved several feet of it out from the ground and into a pile.

"What is that?" Blaze asked him suddenly. "That... power."

"It's called psychokinesis," he explained. "My mother said my father had it, too. I can control things with my mind... though I'm not very good at it."

"You seemed pretty good at it earlier. You saved both of us."

He shrugged slightly. "I don't know what happened there. I've never been able to do something like that before – the most I could pick up was a rock. I don't know what happened."

She blinked, surprised. "Do you think you could do it again?"

He looked around. Spying a large rock that had fallen from the cliff when the monster hit it some twenty feet away, he outstretched one arm, his palm facing it. His body and the rock glowed, and he moved it from side to side, before placing it back on the top of the cliff.

"Wow... hey, what if you try making yourself float?" She asked, fascinated.

Blinking once, he jumped into the air and again his body glowed, and he stood suspended in mid air.

She laughed a little bit. "That's cool!"

Pleased with himself, his feet softly touched back to the ground. He looked at her as he saw her smile for the first time – he had never met anyone his age before, let alone a girl. Her smile seemed to brighten up her face, and he thought it made her look very pretty.

"You were cool too," he said, speaking the other thought on his mind. "I was wondering, how did you do that? Just – attack the monster like that without being burned?"

She held out her arm a bit her palm cupped. Instantly, a small flame appeared in it. "Pyrokinesis," she said. "Power to control fire." The flame disappeared.

"Wow, that's so cool!" He exclaimed eagerly. "So fire doesn't hurt you? That's so cool!"

She giggled lightly at his enthusiasm. "Not unless there's a ton of it. I guess you could say I'm not really affected by heat."

"That's so cool," he repeated.

She smiled, and silence washed over them once again.

"Hey, um... Blaze."

"Yes?" She said, looking at him.

"Would you... be my friend?" He asked nervously – though he had no idea why he was nervous.

She blinked. No one had ever asked her this before. A feeling then welled in her chest, though she was unable to identify what it may have been. Whatever it was, it forced her head to nod and a smile to cross her face once again.

As if contagious, the smile came onto Silver's face as well. "Alright. Friends stick together no matter what. I don't know what you want to do in Crisis City – but whatever it is, I'll help you. Because now, we're friends."

Like so many of the travelers that had come and met Silver and his mother, she could not help but be moved by his honestly and kindness. Hot water pooled in her eyes, for yet another reason she could not identify, but she quickly it out with one hand. "Thank you," was her simple reply. He smiled.

"...To answer your earlier question, I'm going to destroy Iblis."

"Iblis? Isn't that the source of all the flames?"

"Yes. He... he's the reason my parents are dead. Yours, too. He's the reason the world is like this. I'm going to destroy him so that the world can become better, and to avenge their deaths. Not only my parents, too... I've seen too many people lose their lives to this. It has to stop."

He didn't take his eyes off her. "You mean, if Iblis is destroyed, the world will stop being like this?"

She nodded. "All these monsters will disappear, too. They spawn from him."

For a moment, neither of them said anything.

"Blaze – I want to help you with that. Not just because we're friends, but because I want to help make the world better, too."

Once more, she nodded.

Without saying a word, Silver then walked to his mother, before lifting her with his power. However, instead of carrying her there this way, he simply used it to put her in his arms, wishing to hold her once more, despite all warmth having faded from her body. Then, he brought her over, gently lowering her into the pit, and kneeling down. His new friend knelt next to him.

"Mother... thank you for everything. I'm sorry... I wasn't able to protect you. I promise, I'm going to keep living, and... I'm going to help people." He spoke these vows as they came to his mind, thinking for the first time exactly what he wanted to do with his life. "I'll help people and make sure nobody has to do what you did for me. And... I have a friend now! I have somebody by my side. Blaze saved me, and... together, we're... we're going to change the world. We're going to make it so that nobody else ends up like you or father. ...Oh, and I used my power! I defeated that monster. I wish you could have seen..." Hot tears began to form in his eyes. For a moment he shut his eyelids to try to force them away, but instead it only caused them to collapse out of his eyes and slowly flow down his face. He then opened them and spoke again. "Mother... please don't worry about me. Please... be happy. With father. I have somebody with me, and together we're going to change the world."

Again, Blaze felt herself being so emotionally moved by his words. Such love and compassion was something she had never seen, and it was so strong that not only did tears begin to take shape in her eyes as well, but she felt herself becoming attached to this boy – care and concern for him forming in her heart.

Silence filled the area, before the pile of ground glowed and was placed on top of the boy's mother, and a rock placed at the head of it.

For what felt like the longest time, the two simply stayed there, lost in their own thoughts. "...I'm sure she really appreciated that," the cat finally said. "I... think that was really kind of you."

He said nothing, but stood and held his hand out to her. "Come on. You need to rest that leg. And I want to talk to you more," he added, his voice taking a happier tone, giving her a smile. Returning it, she lightly put her hand in his and he pulled her up. Able to stand on her own now, their hands came undone and they walked into the alcove together.

"So Blaze, how long have you been traveling? Did you live near here?"

"Mm..." she said, thinking about her answer for a second. "I guess a few weeks now. I lived kind of farther away. Near a pond too, actually."

He nodded as they both sat down.

"So you've really never used your power like you did on that monster before?" She said, still in disbelief over it.

"No, never!" He said.

She giggled. "It was really cool."

Smiling, he stood back up. "It felt great! I wish I could do more stuff like that."

"I'm sure you can. You just don't know it yet."

As if to test the theory, he jumped and tried levitating again. Upon success, he tried moving around. "Hey, hey, check it out!"

"Wow, can you just do that forev–" She stopped speaking as the glow from his body faded in an instant, and he fell to the ground, on his back.

Both of them burst out in laughter.

"I guess not," he managed to say. After regaining control of his voice, he asked, "But what can you do, Blaze? I mean, with your pyrokinesis."

"Well, I can control fire, to put it simply. Once my leg's completely better, I'll show you some things." She smiled.

He nodded eagerly. "Okay! I'll look forward to it!"

For the longest time, the two just continued talking, about the simplest of things. How they grew up, various happenings of their childhood – things that friends talk about. The sun set, and the burnt orange of the sky became a darker burnt orange. Silver took notice of this after they finished a piece of their conversation. "It's getting dark out," he said, walking to the entrance of the alcove. "We both had long days, too. We should sleep sometime soon, especially if we're going to leave tomorrow."

Blaze nodded, still sitting with her back against the wall. Silver walked back, sitting at her side, about a foot away. Then, he held out his hand to her.

She looked at it. "What?"

With his free hand, he took one of hers and placed it within both of his. Her cheeks turned pink. "We have to promise things."

"L-like?"

He paused. "Together, we're going to defeat Iblis."

She nodded.

"We'll always stick together, no matter what."

She nodded.

Once more, he paused. "Is there anything you want to add?"

Though Blaze was the same age as Silver, most of her childish naiveté had been long gone, and she had always been mature for her age. Not easily influenced by others, she would often be looked upon as cold by those that met her – this, however, was not true, she was far from cold. She simply did not express her emotions all too often, as she found growing up that doing such actions would only result in being hurt. However, she could not help herself but be moved by such softheartedness and honesty, and it once again caused unknown fillings to stir within her own heart, and these words to tumble out of her mouth: "We'll never abandon each other."

He nodded. "Right. It's a promise, then." He smiled at her, which she returned. He then let go of her hand, his arms at his sides. "Get a good sleep, okay?"

"Right. You too."

Tired from the exhaustive day, their eyes shut, and both of them fell asleep as quick as things had changed.

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Chapter 2 end.

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A/N: Well, that was long. Or it felt long. Anyway, I plan on making one more chapter for this, probably about them encountering Iblis for the first time. Personally, I feel like Blaze was kind of OOC, though I didn't intend for her to be completely IC anyway, because I always thought that as a child she was a little more like Silver in the sense of being more open about her emotions and such. Well anyway, I hope you enjoyed, reviews always appreciated!

_- Medli_


	3. Departure

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Chapter 3: Departure

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The two slept for quite some time in peace. Perhaps it was because they were both so exhausted that they slept so soundly, or perhaps it was because that through each other's words and promises, they had eased one another's hearts. Regardless, after a healthy eight or so hours of sleep, the young boy was the first to awake. Slowly his eyes opened, light flooding into them and the blurry scene coming into focus. He glanced around himself once, and, his mind yet having fully recalled the events that had transpired, was surprised by the sleeping pink cat next to him, her head on his shoulder.

He blinked, at first wanting to wake her and ask her what was going on – but then it all came rushing back into his mind in the matter of a second. The images and sounds of the events that happened the day before flashed by his eyes and resounded in his ears at a race car's pace – the monster, the attack, the girl's silhouette as she jumped in, waking to her voice, his mother's bloody corpse, the second attack, the girl saving him once again, her injury, the awakening of his powers, the defeat of the monster, the burial of his mother. The pain that flowed into his heart like a river freezing over when he recalled these things so suddenly faded, however, when the memory returned of the promise he made with his new companion after, as well as the hours he spent talking with her. A warm and comforting feeling filled his body when he thought of that; a smile crossed his face as he reminisced back to the topics of the discussions. Inwardly, he laughed – the time he tried levitating, and succeeded, but fell to the ground without warning moments later – popped into his head. However, a smile crossed his face thinking of this not only at the humor of the situation, but also because of the smile that Blaze had donned then, too. It was a sweet and warm smile, and that was also the only time he'd seen her smile the entire time they had talked. Yes, she did so a few more times as their conversation held on for hours, but that was the first time he had seen it. Unlike her outward demeanor, it was filled with a gentle friendliness and there was something about it that forced him to smile at only its thought.

Her quiet moan of stirring snapped him back into reality – her eyes fluttered open, their pupils slowly looking at the world around her. Much like Silver, it took her a few moments to remember exactly what was going on.

"Good morning," he greeted her.

She glanced up at him, and when her golden eyes met his, she instantly recalled the previous day. "Good morning..." She groggily replied. Another moment passed, and she realized her head was not leaning back against the hard wall like the rest of her, but leaning on something soft, warm... she looked down and to her left side, whereupon she realized exactly what her head had been resting on.

Without a second thought she jolted upright, embarrassed, her face flushed. She must've fallen over in her sleep. "S-sorry," she stammered.

"Huh? Why?" He asked, with no grasp on why she would apologize.

For a moment she simply looked at him, wondering if he was being sarcastic. When only met with his curious stare, she shook her head and looked away. "Never mind. So are we leaving today?"

"I don't know, can you walk with that injury? You can't risk straining it and making it worse."

Steadily she uncoiled her bandage, still slightly damp from her earlier bleeding, curious to see if her wound had healed. The small gash was still plainly visible, although the injury was worse internally then it showed on the outside – rocks do not leave many scratches and the bleeding had been light, and, although she did not voice this, it was sore and hurt to move and put pressure on – the bruise she had being a manifestation of this.

Seeing this sight, Silver said, "No way – you should let it rest another day."

"No, I'm fine. I've walked on injuries worse than this before. We'll be fine if we stay together." She rose to her feet.

Silver jumped up. "Right! We promised that."

A smile came across her face unwillingly. "Right." Without warning, she felt a grip on her wrist, and her face heated. "A-ah–"

"Hm? What's wrong?" He asked, looking back at her.

"You... don't need to do that."

"Oh. Well I don't want you to fall. Especially on your knee."

"I can take care of myself."

"It's what friends are supposed to do."

There was really no winning with him, she decided. He was naïve and stubborn; normally, these two things would have gotten on Blaze the Cat's nerves within a few minutes. She herself was stubborn, and had, even at her tender age, decided to close off her feelings and heart to others. Offering yourself emotionally to someone else was like asking them to begin rendering at it with claws that tore at your very mind: something truly unnecessary that would only result in you being hurt. However – this boy – there was something about him that caused her to smile, to think in a happy tone. There was something about him that caused her to think less about revenge, and more about making the world a better place. There was something about him that, when he said certain things or looked at her a certain way – with eyes filled with compassion, empathy, and kindness – it resulted in a warm, comforting flow throughout her soul.

And so, she gave in. "Alright. Let's go."

He nodded once, and the two walked out of the alcove together. She looked him in the eye as he suddenly stopped short. "What is it?"

"I..." He shook his head. "Nothing really. I was just thinking, I won't be back here. At least not for a long time."

As she remained silent, he turned towards the makeshift graves of his parents. "Mother, Father, Blaze and I are leaving. Together, we're going to change the world." As he said this, he used his free hand to make a fist, as if to emphasize his point with this. He looked at his new friend. "Right?"

"Right."

She felt his gloved hand move down from her wrist into her palm, now not holding her just to make sure she cannot fall, but as if affirming their partnership and the bond that they now share, linking them together. Despite knowing now that he could only have the purest intentions, warmth still rushed to her cheeks – a feeling she had yet to understand why it occurred.

So hand in hand, the two walked – not only to begin their journey, but also to begin the true test of their companionship.

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Chapter 3 end.

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A/N: Yeah, I know that was short – especially compared to the last one. This was originally going to be the last chapter in the fic, but when I realized how much I actually had planned for after this, I decided to make it into two chapters. I expect the next one to be somewhere along the length of chapter two, so I hope you all look forward to it, but more important that you still enjoyed this, despite it being somewhat short. Thanks for all your reviews and support!

_- Medli_


	4. Promises

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Chapter 4: Promises

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The journey to Crisis City was about three hours on foot, though the two were not walking at the fastest of paces. The logical explanation to this would be that one of them had an injured leg; but, being as strong-willed as she was, she would never allow this to impede her progress or, of course, admit to her companion that it bothered her or she was any sort of pain. No, Blaze was too proud for this. So, this causes one to wonder why they did not increase their speed if she had no complaint of her injury. To this, there are many possible reasons. For instance, it may have been that the previous day had been so exhaustive and shocking that they still felt the aftereffects – still numb from the pain, they could not charge onward at full speed. Perhaps, though, it was something stirring within their innermost hearts, a feeling they both couldn't comprehend; however, this was a feeling that they both had felt since the moment they met, and it feeling that made them happier when they were together, a strange feeling that caused so many unknown emotions to become manifest in the pair. Although Silver, who was naïve and somewhat oblivious to such things, did not even realize these emotions inside of him existed in the first place.

It was Blaze who noticed this new emotion inside of her, and often wondered what it was – this feeling that made her smile when he did, this same feeling that caused her cheeks to redden when he took her hand. She wanted nothing more than to be able to identify this feeling and know what to do about it – but no matter how hard she tried, she was unable to figure out what it may be.

So the two arrived upon the outskirts of the city some three hours after they departed. As they had begun to get closer, they both silently realized exactly what being the source of the endless flames implicated; the city was far worse than either of them could have expected or imagined. Wherever they looked there were ruins of what seemed to be large, previously inhabited structures, broken roadways, monsters... and flames. Yes, the flames dominated the whole city – everything was burnt, and in the center of it all was a massive pit of magma and a volcano that had supposedly spawned from Iblis's flames himself, according to what Blaze said to her companion, which in turn she had heard from another traveler.

These sights, however, were overshadowed by a towering tornado of magma in the center of it all.

They saw all this, yet pressed forward – they had promised.

Upon entering the city, it became obvious that there was no safe route. They both glanced around, hoping to somehow prove that wrong.

"We're just going to have to go straight through. The quicker we get to the middle and to Iblis, the better," said Blaze.

Silver nodded. "Let's try to avoid enemies anyway, though. We can't have either of us getting hurt."

"Right. Let's move quickly, too. The faster we're moving, the less of a target we are."

Due to her injury, he still held her hand as a precaution – or at least that's what they told themselves it was for – and he took the lead, running at a fast enough pace to be quick but not so fast as to tire themselves out. Though they did not speak, it was not silent; the constant tapping of their feet against the ground and the occasional sound of something crashing or falling apart prevented this. It was not long before they came to a dead end: the road stopped at a sudden drop off of a hundred feet into lava. Seeing the predicament, they looked around.

"Let's go up," Blaze said, pointing at a fallen structure that made a sort of makeshift stairs onto another, taller structure.

"Where do we go from there, though? It's a dead end."

"We can just use it to take a look around. We'll be able to see more."

So the two climbed up to the top, temporarily unlocking their hands to grab hold of the last ledge. After gaining about fifteen feet in altitude, Blaze asked him, "Do you see that tornado?" She pointed at the huge, upward spiral of flames.

He turned to it. "Yeah?"

"That's Iblis. That's exactly where he is."

"You mean, he really is just a bunch of flames?"

She shook her head. "He hides in that, most of the time." She paused. "He's... awful. It's hard to look at him. It's like he's made of pure hatred and knows only of killing and destruction."

Silence overcame them – though her eyes did not leave the tornado, Silver looked right at her, seeing the fire reflected in her eyes. Not only were the flames she looked upon in her golden pools, however. Something else swam inside – not something physical, but an emotion. Perhaps it was sorrow, perhaps it was pain, but whatever it was, it kept her silent before Silver asked the obvious question: "Have you seen him before?"

There was a long period where the only sounds heard was the dancing of the flames as they roared in the wind.

"...I used to live here," she finally said. "I was born here. My parents and I... and my older brother. We lived here until I was nine. Then... one day... we had planned to leave Crisis City. It was becoming too dangerous. But my brother... he was attacked. He was killed. By something like what killed your mother." All the while she said this, her gaze didn't shift from the tornado. "My father vowed to destroy Iblis and put an end to this. My mother and I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen..."

Water began to flow over and cover the flames reflected in her eyes, distorting their image and causing them to appear as if they had taken over her eyes; bringing all the despair and sadness with them. He spoke her name, wanting her to stop if it was too painful. "Blaze..."

"...He promised he would come back the next day. He left that night. My mother told me to sleep... I realized she had planned to follow him, though. I sneaked out to follow her in turn, but we were both... too late. My father was dead – on that cliff, right there, and Iblis was rising from the lava, roaring above his body. I yelled out for him, and my mother grabbed my arm, and we escaped."

Silver remained silent; he did not take his eyes off her.

"My mother was... never the same after that. She never smiled, she wouldn't spend time with me. Days would pass by and we wouldn't have exchanged any words. Finally, a few weeks ago, I woke up, and... she was just gone. She died in her sleep. She just... she couldn't live any more, I guess."

"...So that's why you want to avenge your family."

She said nothing, moving her head once in silent confirmation.

A warmth took hold of her hand, and she looked down to see both of his covering it. She turned her head level again, meeting his eyes.

"Don't worry. I promise that we will. For both our families."

For a moment, all she could do was look at him, unable to speak – too moved by his words. Although they were simple, the way he said it and the way he looked at her made them mean so much to her; his kindness and empathy was almost too much. Then, she nodded and blinked once, the tears that had formed in her eyes running down her face. "Right."

Taking one hand off hers, Silver wiped off her tears with a finger, as if telling her it was okay and that she didn't have to cry. He smiled with such a pure warmth that she almost melted into a puddle of goo right then and there. Is that really why her legs suddenly felt like jelly and almost unable to support her, though? Regardless, she couldn't help by smile in return.

Not letting go of her hand, Silver turned to face the tornado. "So if he's in the tornado, what's the best way to approach him?"

Blaze looked down at the ocean of magma, scanning for a safe place to stand. "There," she said, pointing at a tall, flat land mass. "We can't be too close or else we'll just get sucked in. See the boulders on that piece of land? If we get there, we can draw Iblis out of the tornado, then you can use your power to toss them at him." She paused. "I don't know how we can get there, though."

The boy tapped his foot once in thought. "Hey, since we're so high above that, I can levitate over to it. If I just use my power a little bit at a time, we can be descending and going over there at once. I can do it for at least that long."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded. "It's best this way too, we won't have to walk anymore."

Though the plan was formulated, the two of them did nothing for a few moments.

"...Are you sure you want to do this?" Blaze asked. "We could... we could die."

"I... I know that. But I wouldn't be able to live in peace now that I know I could do something to help the world. ...Besides, you're not going to back out now, are you?"

She was silent.

"I promised you that I wouldn't abandon you. I'm not going to break that, either." He took a step towards her, lightly holding her shoulders. "Hold on to me. It'd be bad if you fell."

Heat formed in her cheeks as she put her arms around his back, gripping onto her wrists tightly.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Ready."

His body glowed when his feet left the ground, jumping about a foot in the air before beginning their descent. Switching between using his power to glide forward and not using it to lower themselves further, it took about thirty seconds for them to reach their destination. Their feet softly touched down to the ground, and Blaze let go of him, taking a step back.

They said nothing, staring at the tornado of flame, which now loomed over them ominously, though still some fifty feet away. It was eerily quiet, save for the constant sound of the wind and fire rushing about inside the vortex.

This, however, did not last long – the rapid spinning slowly died down, the height of the cyclone decreasing, until eventually all motion and sound had stopped and it diminished into the lava.

Silver took a few steps forward, looking over the edge and into the sea. He looked back as the ground began to vibrate with increasing intensity, quickly coming to a point where he could barely keep on his feet. His companion was having the same difficulties, but over the rumbling produced by the force of the quaking, she managed to yell, "Silver, get back!"

He did so as best he could, stumbling backwards. He ended up next to his friend, about to lose his balance. The cat saw this and took hold of his arm, moving her free hand into his, which he kept a close grip on for both of their sakes.

All too suddenly, the rumbling stopped; the two had no longer than a second to direct their attention towards the sudden pillar-shaped explosion of lava that burst from below, where they tornado had been. As it fell, what stood in it's place was a beast – no, to call it a beast would be wrong. It was a creature of flame and destruction, a creature whose eyes glowed with malice, a creature whose roar of fury shook the ground. Its head and shoulders were armed with molten rock; several horns of it jutting out in many places.

"That's... Iblis!"

It let out a cry of anger, before hurling a boulder it took from the lava below at the companions. They jumped to the side, watching as the impact of the attack left a crater on their sole means of survival against the abyss of magma below them.

"You have to catch it," Blaze told her friend. "If you don't this platform is going to crumble!"

He nodded swiftly, his body glowing as well as the boulder from the attack as Iblis reached for another weapon. Thrusting his outstretched arms out, the rock flew at the flame monster and hit him square in his chest of magma. It let out a warped groan, before watching as the boulder slowly sunk out of him and fell back into the lava below.

"It's not working!"

"I'll distract him, you keep trying!"

"But –"

"You're the only one that can hit him! I'm faster than you, too!"

Despite all the logic behind her words, he could not help but want to resist that – the thought of her in danger sent a pang of pain through his heart and worry throughout his mind, but nevertheless he did as she said, moving as quickly as he could in order to keep her out of peril. Using his psychokinesis to pick up the same boulder just thrown at them, he hurled it back at its original sender. The blow hit him right in the head this time, cracking its molten rock armor and forcing the monster to emit a warped cry of agony.

"Silver! That's it! Break his armor – his head is his weak point!"

"Right!"

Iblis quickly regained his senses, crying at them again, this time not out of pain, but out of anger. Taking another rock, he tossed it at the boy.

Seeing his opportunity, Silver did not budge, but instead held his arms in front of him, crossed at his wrists. His body began to glow and a force field appeared in front of him, trapping the boulder before it could hit. Repeating his earlier method, he tossed it back at the monster – landing another good hit in its head, cracking its protection further.

"You've almost got it!"

Once again, the monster cried in pain before taking another boulder from the lava and hurling it at Silver. Filled with confidence, the hedgehog trapped the attack and tossed it back at him. _Yes...! _He thought to himself, _we can do this... Mother, Father, I'm – _

Iblis was not to be fooled twice, however.

Before the repelled attack connected, it slammed it with one of its hands, sending it volleying at a higher speed towards the cat.

The last thing Silver the Hedgehog could remember clearly seeing was the boulder mere feet away from her – she had no time to react. In the next moment, Silver did not think but simply acted based off this; he called out her name, jumping at her as fast as he could. He latched onto her, his arms flung around her back, and the impact of his body against hers sent them both flying to the side – almost out of range of the attack.

The boulder hit the surface once, cracking the terrain, before bouncing back up from the force with which it had been launched. Now on the ground, the two youths had no time to get up and move – using the only power he could to possibly defend themselves, Silver's body began to glow, still holding his arms around the cat. The massive rock stopped before it hit them, glowing the same hue as the boy's body.

Alas, the impact the attack had made on the ground was too much; it began to shake violently and the base began to crumble.

"S-Silver, we're falling!"

The two stood, Silver still holding the boulder with his power. Hardly managing to keep their balances on the quaking surface, they looked around for any possible route of escape. Silver saw it – from the cliff which they had jumped from, at its base was a flat piece of land some foot above the lava. But it was so far away – how to get there?

Their search was cut short, however, by Iblis's fist slamming into the ground some five feet away from them. This caused the surface they stood on to crumble completely; cracks running throughout its base and middle. Finally they rose to the top, splitting it almost exactly in half – now totally shattered, nothing stopped the pieces from plunging into the lava below, and the two youths to begin their descent. Though the structure had once been tall, they didn't have much time to talk.

"Silver, we're...!"

Their fall became increasingly rapid. Taking hold of her hands, Silver did the only thing he could think to do: he used his power, slowing them to a stop. They both knew that this couldn't last long however, and frantically looked for a means to avoid diving into the magma.

Blaze freed one of her hands from his grasp, pointing in a direction. "Over there!"

He looked where she indicated, and spied a large piece of rock that had once been part of the structure. It was large enough that it still remained above the lava – for now, at least. Briefly nodding, he moved as quickly as he could through the air, his power running out just as they were able to land.

The two felt the land sinking, and saw their only chance: the flat piece of land Silver had noticed before they fell. Still, it was far away, albeit less so now. Both of them knew the risk had to be made, however. He moved his free arm towards her waist in order to hold her before he made his jump, but the sudden, flaming hand of Iblis that flew down separated them, knocking Blaze towards the opposing cliff, to the side of the flat piece of land.

Not having time to think about it and acting on pure impulse, Silver the Hedgehog leapt for the girl, despite the fact that he blatantly risked himself. If he didn't try, however, she would fall into the lava. He wouldn't – no, he couldn't – let that happen.

The speed of his jump was greater than the speed with which she flew in the direction of the cliff, and he managed to catch her, using his power to stop before they both crashed. Still recovering from using it just moments ago, the two barely made it to the piece of land before he could no longer keep them afloat, tumbling onto the ground with his friend.

"Are you okay?" He asked, looking at the girl now laying at his side, one arm still around her.

"I-I'm fine," was her quick reply as heat rose to her cheeks. "We have to –"

The thunderous roar of Iblis cut her sentence short, as he turned to face them again. Preparing his attack, the two had little time to plan a route of escape.

Quickly, she rose to her feet, leaning on her good leg, as the injury from the previous day was exasperated by her recent hit. "There," she said, pointing at a tall volcano, which reached higher than either of them could see. "It's close enough, we can wall jump off this cliff, onto that, then back onto the top of this cliff and make a break for it."

"You can't jump on that!"

"I have to, so I will."

"I can't let you do that," he replied, looking her straight in the eye.

She opened her mouth to retort, but the incoming boulder made her shut her mouth; Silver saw it too, and used his psychokinesis to stop it.

"Come on, get on my back."

"Wh-wha –"

"Hurry!"

Redness growing in intensity in her face, she quickly did as he said, hooking her arms around his torso.

Thinking about his plan for another moment, he then proceeded to move the boulder into the lava; jumping onto it to use it as a head start up the cliff. Bounding off of that, he hit the volcano with his feet, being sure to keep hold of the cat on his back. Utilizing his power to levitate himself, he managed to get to the top of the cliff without having to jump another time, knowing that athletics wasn't exactly his strong suit.

Rather, it would be more correct to say he almost got the top of the cliff; another attack launched by Iblis hit them before he planted his feet, not only separating him from his friend, by causing him to begin to fall into the sea below and her to tumble several feet onto the mainland. Struggling to her feet as fast as she could, she stumbled back to the edge.

And this is where, after the longest time of always thinking before she acted, Blaze the Cat acted on pure impulse and emotions. She threw herself off the ground, grasping Silver's wrist just in time and barely managing to grip the edge of the cliff with her free hand. He quickly held tight to her wrist in response.

"Blaze! Get yourself back up there!"

"I, I can't! I can't abandon you!"

Despite the chaos of it all, he blinked, almost surprised by her words – although he hadn't known her long, he had not once heard her speak words in such a sincere manner. His willpower transforming into determination, he asked her, "Try swinging me up as far as you can! I'll try and grab the cliff too!"

Nodding and hearing the ominous cry of Iblis behind them, she knew she did not have much time – using all her strength, she swung her arm up, and Silver took hold of the cliff with his free hand. Together, two of their hands now interlocked, they pulled themselves up and onto land.

"Come on," he said, taking the lead so as to put less stress on her now further-wounded body. As they ran, the only sounds heard was that of their feet hitting the ground, the flurry of the winds made of flame, and the roar of the monster.

Exhausted, they ran for only minutes before they both knew they had to stop – conveniently, a ruined structure they passed made a shelter that they could take refuge in. Both taking notice, they headed inside. Their strained muscles caught up to them as they ceased motion, breathing heavily and unable to speak. After a moment, silence enveloped them.

Without warning, Blaze kicked a small rock against the wall. The boy looked at her, surprised.

"I... we didn't do anything. We were powerless," she said simply, tears clouding her vision. "Our families... the world... we couldn't –"

"Blaze," he cut her off, putting his hands on her shoulder. "Listen –"

"What were we thinking?" She continued, not listening to him. "There's a reason the world is like this. No one else has been able to do that. We... we almost _died,_ we.._. _we can't do anything!" Her voice rose as she spoke, reality crashing down on her.

He looked at the ground. Despite being incredibly idealistic and ignoring all logic most of the time – Silver couldn't help but be discouraged by the events of the day and her words. Nevertheless, his will forced himself to look her in the eye, still filled with determination. "Blaze. We can't let this just... stop us. We... made a promise," He stated, tears forming in his eyes as well.

"Then... then why are you crying?" She questioned. "If you think we can do this, why are you sad?"

He gave her no answer.

"We... we can't do this. We can't –"

He threw his arms around her, pulling her close to himself. Before she could reply with her usual "what," he said, "I... I was scared. I was worried about you. I thought... I almost thought something bad might happen to you. I..." His voice became ever more quiet, eventually becoming inaudible.

Silver the Hedgehog, though very emotional and being one who acted purely on his emotions, seldom showed feelings of sadness or fear. Perhaps it was because he did not feel these things at all; he was upbeat and naturally courageous, though he did not recognize himself as being the latter. Or maybe it was that he was sad and fear as much as the average person, but he did not realize these things; because he acted on his emotions without giving it a second thought, he didn't give himself time to think about emotions that would resist him from acting on those. However, as Silver held this girl close to him and recalled the bond and promises they now shared, he realized that when he thought he might have lost her only some minutes ago, he could not help but feel scared.

Unable to see his face, her head nearly resting on his shoulder, she let the tears flow out of her eyes now that she knew he could not see. As she felt his arms gently mold around her figure, she returned the gesture, moving her own up and around his back. "I'm sorry I... acted like that." She swallowed, keeping herself from sobbing. "Thank you... for saving me."

She felt him nod. "Of course. I promised I wouldn't abandon you – and I intend to keep that."

The two stood there silently for a long, long time. Blaze felt it again – that warm rush of a feeling that coursed within her at times such as this, when they maintained close contact or he said something so sweet and kind to her, this time having the two mixed together. Unbeknowst to her, Silver felt the same thing as well – however the young boy, who simply acted on emotions without thinking, did not give them a second thought, just taking action on his whims and feelings, this trait he carried being the cause of his sudden embrace of the feline. Yet the two were similar in that they did not know what sort of emotion was being conceived in their hearts that caused them to act this way.

Finally, he pulled himself away, moving his hands to her shoulders once again. "Blaze – I want us to promise something."

"Yes?"

"Together... no matter how long it takes. We're going to defeat Iblis, together."

Her expression slowly formed a smile. "...Right!"

Taking her hands and holding one of his, she continued to speak to him. "We have to train – but together, we can do this."

Quickly, he returned her smile – as always, filled with life and hope. "Right!" Perchance, he caught sight of her leg – strained by the earlier encounter, she was heavily leaning on her unwounded one. "Your leg..."

She looked down at it as well, not feeling too much pain, but more numbness instead. "Oh." Glancing around at the empty ruin, she said, "I think... we should both rest for a bit. You can't be completely fine either."

He smiled. "I am compared to you."

Laughing, she replied, "Please – don't think something like this can drag me down."

His smile continued to stay on his face, not because he was amused by her words, but because he was happy to see her smile and laugh again. Still holding her hand, he stepped back against the wall, lowering into a sitting position and taking her with him.

Sitting side by side, he turned his head to look at his friend. "I think you're right about the rest thing."

Smiling, she nodded.

Silence overcame them once more.

"So it's a promise, right?" He asked.

"It's a promise."

Lacing their fingers together, their eyes began to flutter shut. Without intention and yet without resisting, the cat felt her head slide to the side and onto his shoulder before they both fell into a slumber; a slumber filled with dreams, this time not of the future, but the happiness they both felt in their hearts at this time, as perhaps they both came to terms with the once-unidentifiable feelings now swelling in their hearts.

_Fin_

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A/N: Holy bajeebus, did that take forever. The obvious reason being... well, it's long! Almost twelve whole pages, about 4,700 words. Besides that though, I got some serious block while writing the middle part (the fight with Iblis, specifically). Also on the fight with Iblis... I didn't like the way it turned out. I really, really don't. But I'm fairly happy with the beginning and the end, I guess, so... there you have it. Like with the other chapters, I'll probably come back to this in a day or two and revise it, so please check back if you'd like. Anyway, thanks to everybody who reviewed and stuck with this till the end! It was a true pleasure to write regardless of how it turned out, and I think I may keep writing some more Sonic fiction; I want to write a story about Sonic himself, that much I know. And Shadow, too. Some special thanks goes out to Paul, who always encourages me with stuff like this, and Sheffer, who's been a delight to talk to these past few days. And of course, to all those who reviewed! That's one of the main reasons I keep going! So thanks, I really hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it!

_- Medli_


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